TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will soon have 1 million people with valid permits to carry a concealed weapon.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam announced Wednesday that the state would cross the milestone sometime next week. Putnam said the state has the largest number of concealed weapon permit holders in the nation.

The number of people applying for concealed weapon permits has risen sharply over the last four years.

Putnam said that four out of five people with a permit are male. Roughly 10 percent of those with a valid permit are not state residents.

Anyone who is 21 years and older and is legal resident or citizen of the U.S. can apply for a permit. Convicted felons who have not had their rights restored and those judged mentally incompetent are ineligible.

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